Category Archives: News Alert

Category for Takoma alert items.

News, News Alert, Public Notices

Project Update! DDOT’s Plans for the Fort Totten-Takoma Leg of Metropolitan Branch Trail Construction: Starts Summer 2023

 

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) invites you to a virtual project meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 6:00 PM to discuss the status of the Metropolitan Branch Train Project (MBT). DDOT will present an overview of the project and discuss project features and milestones. This segment of the trail will connect with Takoma Park’s half-mile of the MBT, currently undergoing a redesign process of its own. (More information on the Takoma Park section is available on the city’s project page.)

District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Meeting

DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 2023
TIME: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM


VIRTUAL MEETING: WebEx
Click here to view the virtual meeting and presentation:
tinyurl.com/MBTFortTottenToTakomaProject

Event Number: 2308 603 0092
Event Password: Join250! (56462500 from phones and video systems)

Dial-in option (audio only): 1-202-860-2110
Access code: 230 860 30092

  • The WebEx system will prompt you for a Numeric Webinar Password: 82659282. Press the # key to join the meeting.

 

For more information, please contact:
Kelsey Bridges, DDOT Transportation Planner
202-438-8972
near.northwestiii@dc.gov.

 

News Alert, Public Notices

The City of Takoma Park Safe Grow Program helps to protect our environment and Pollinators Play a Huge Role!

 

Tips for Making a Pollinator-Friendly Garden

Thinking about changing up your garden? You can design a garden that is not only beautiful for you but also provides a helpful habitat for pollinators! Here are our tips for making a pollinator-friendly garden.

Plant Native

Not just any plant will make a pollinator-friendly garden. You need plenty of native plants to supply pollen and nectar for our little native friends. Ideally, you’ll have a mix of plants that will bloom from spring through summer and as late into the fall as possible to provide a continual resource for pollinators. For us in Maryland, see the recommended list of native plants. These will help attract bees, butterflies, and birds to your garden and help them on their pollinating journey!

Planting in groups allows the pollinators to work thoroughly and efficiently!

Plant in Groups

Instead of spacing out your pollinator-friendly plants, plant them in groups. Plant at least three to five types of pollinator plants together and layer them throughout your garden. Not only will you get beautiful drifts of color, but you’ll be helping bees and other pollinating insects out. When you space out plants, you make pollinating insects have to move around a great deal, and that can tire them out and slow them down. Groupings allow the pollinators to work these areas thoroughly and efficiently!

Go Natural

To combat pests, go natural instead of using synthetic chemicals. Many pesticides are toxic to bees and other beneficial organisms, so use sticky traps and pheromone traps instead. You can also work with nature to control pests and diseases by using organic fertilizer and quality compost and removing weeds and infected plants.

Add Water

Adding water spots is a must for a pollinator-friendly garden. Providing water sources will attract more pollinators and help them stay hydrated in warm weather. Any water source, natural or man-made, will do. Adding a birdbath is a great way to add a water source as well as decoration to your garden. A hanging dripping bottle also works. Even a simple puddle will provide much-needed water to pollinators.

Provide Resting Spots

Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators need shelter to rest, protect themselves from the elements, hide from predators, and rear their young. If you can, allow part of your garden to grow a little wild. This will provide protection for pollinators as well as allow you to sit back, relax, and let nature do the work for you! You can also provide a pile of grass cutting or a decomposing log in a sunny place on the ground. Even keeping a dead tree standing creates necessary nooks for butterflies and bees.

Mayor Searcy and City Council proclaim Pollinator’s Week

Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

Rhizome Party, Parade, Film Screening and Concert this Friday

CELEBRATING RHIZOME DC PARTY

Friday, June 30 

6 pm – Party at Rhizome at 6950 Maple Street NW

7 pm – Parade to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue

7:30 pm – Film Screening and Concert at the Community Center

Since its founding in 2015, Rhizome DC has offered a home for experimental music, unconventional art, and eclectic performances tucked inside an unassuming house bordering downtown Takoma Park. Now we’re celebrating Rhizome with a multi-media party stretching across the city so bring your walking shoes!

Please join us at 6 pm on June 30 for a free party with music and conversation at Rhizome. Bring some noisemakers (kids can use their outdoor voices) for a festive parade at 7 pm from Rhizome to the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue.

At the Community Center, a free film screening will feature the Rhizome Is Home documentary along with a Q&A with film director Tatev Sargsyan. Using interviews and clips of previous performances, the film explores Rhizome’s representation of marginalized voices in the arts and resilience under threat of dislocation from the shape-shifting forces of gentrification.

Following the film screening, the CMW Players will take the stage for a short experimental music concert. Don’t miss it!

This event is part of the Takoma Park Arts series organized by the City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division. The series includes free art exhibitions, film screenings, poetry readings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

For more info about Rhizome, go to rhizomedc.org.

News Alert, Public Notices

Arbor Day Foundation Names Takoma Park a 2022 Tree City USA®

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor Talisha Searcy
7500 Maple Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912

 

Dear Tree City USA Community Member,

 

On behalf of the Arbor Day Foundation, I’m thrilled to congratulate Takoma Park on earning recognition as a 2022 Tree City USA. Residents of Takoma Park should be proud to live in a community that makes the planting and care of trees a priority.

 

Founded in 1976, Tree City USA is a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Association of State Foresters. Takoma Park is part of an incredible network of more than 3,600 Tree City USA communities nationwide, with a combined population of 155 million.

 

Over the last few years, the value and importance of trees has become increasingly clear. Cities and towns across the globe are facing issues with air quality, water resources, personal health and well-being, and energy use. Takoma Park has taken steps to create to a brighter, greener future.

 

We hope you are as excited as we are to share this accomplishment with your local media and your residents. Enclosed in this packet is a press release for you to distribute at your convenience.

 

We’re excited to celebrate your commitment to the people and trees of Takoma Park. Thank you, again, for your efforts.

 

Read the entire PDF – 
Arbor Day Foundation Names Takoma Park a 2022 Tree City USA®

News Alert, Public Notices

2023 Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off – Saturday, June 03 from 10am to 2pm

 

To assist residents with the proper and safe disposal of hazardous waste, the Public Works Department holds an annual Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off day.

 

Date:  Saturday, June 03, 2023
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Location:
Public Works Yard
City of Takoma Park
31 Oswego Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20910

 

On Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day, Takoma Park residents can drop off household hazardous waste for free (non-residents will be charged a $10 fee (CHECKS ONLY) at the Public Works Facility.

 

This is the process of dropping off materials:

  1. Enter from the Oswego Avenue entrance only.
  2. Following the guidance of the staff directing traffic, all vehicles will exit out of the Ritchie Avenue driveway.
  3. All hazardous materials for drop off must be in the trunk of the car or the bed of a pickup truck only – no materials will be taken out of the interior of your car.
  4. City staff will remove the hazardous materials from the trunk or pick-up truck – participants must stay in their cars at all times.

For more information, visit: 2023 Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day

Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

“Celebrating Sligo Creek” Art Exhibition on View Until Sept. 7

CELEBRATING SLIGO CREEK  Art Exhibition

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

On view until Sept. 7 

Sligo Creek is a lifeblood for wildlife in Takoma Park, an important tributary in our watershed, and a source of creativity and inspiration for local artists.
Two photographers and a mixed-media artist will share their work inspired by the creek and its environs in the Celebrating Sligo Creek exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center, with a free opening reception on June 15. The exhibition, which will be on view until Sept. 7, features work by Julius Kassovic, Lynn Alleva Lilley, and Steven Robinson.
Julius Kassovic is a fine-art photographer based in Silver Spring. Since 2005, Sligo Creek has been his major muse and the subject of his Intimate Waterscapes series.
While working around the world in staff positions with the Peace Corps, he used color negative film to document Peace Corps projects. His work has been exhibited in galleries in the D.C. area and in other states and countries.
“I have been intensively shooting photos in Sligo Creek, and I keep finding new expressions of its beauty,” he said. ”I wade into the creek to capture dreamlike images reflecting through the shallow water that appear to be double exposures but are true representations of the creek’s beauty.”
Lynn Alleva Lilley’s photography centers on personal connections to nature and place, which is inspired by poetry, music, painting, and science. Her photos of Sligo Creek and other locales will be featured in the upcoming photo book The Nest. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
“Eight years ago, I walked into the woods of Sligo Creek and was struck by how the bright winter light fell on brambles in the early evening, creating masses of shimmering silver and red lines,” she said. “These lines in nature felt like possibility, a way to question and to weave a life from fragility, fracture, and chaos into a shifting, shimmering beauty.”
Steven Robinson majored in art in college and has worked as an advertising artist for various advertising firms. Using his photos of Sligo Creek as inspiration, he cuts and molds mixed-media work embellished with glass and minerals that represent the vast diversity of nature, including butterflies, insects, reptiles, and amphibians.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a strong awareness of the natural world, especially the small details of shapes, textures, and colors,” he said. “Using my photography and technical skills, I enjoy producing a unique perspective of our beautiful, complex, and perfect natural world.”

Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

“Wellspring of Poetry” Poetry Reading on June 1

WELLSPRING OF POETRY Poetry Reading

Free Event 

Thursday, June 1 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

Please join us for our next Takoma Park Arts poetry reading where four local poets will share their original work about healing, growth, and enlightenment in various forms. The featured poets include Claudia Gary, Brendan Kennedy, Neha Misra, and Pamela Murray Winters.

Claudia Gary teaches poetry workshops at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda and is the author of several chapbooks and a full-length collection of poetry titled Humor Me. She also is a health science writer, a visual artist, and a composer of tonal chamber music and art songs.

Brendan Edward Kennedy is a poet, voiceover artist, and actor who studied poetry at the University of Maryland.  He also is a company member of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore.

Neha Misra is a first-generation immigrant poet, contemporary eco-folk artist, and award-winning climate justice advocate. Her multi-disciplinary Earth wisdom-centered creative studio uses the transformative power of art to build bridges between our private, collective, and planetary healing.

Pamela Murray Winters is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she has received two Maryland State Arts Council artist awards. Her first book The Unbeckonable Bird was published in 2018.

The Takoma Park Arts series includes free poetry readings, art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

News Alert, Public Notices

Bike Repair Pop-Up Coming to Crossroads Farmers Market – Wednesday, May 24 from 12 – 2pm

On Wednesday, May 24th, in celebration of National Bike Month, the Planning Division will be tabling at the Crossroads Farmers Market from 12:00-2:00 pm.

In addition to free bike safety swag, Upshift Workshop will be providing free basic bike repairs on-site, on a first come-first serve basis, rain or shine. We want to make sure our local bike riders are road ready now that the good weather is back!

Arts & Humanities, News, News Alert

“Meeting the Muse in May” Poetry Reading on May 18

MEETING THE MUSE IN MAY

Free Poetry Reading

Thursday, May 18 at 7:30 pm 

Takoma Park Community Center

7500 Maple Avenue 

Please join us for the Meeting the Muse in May poetry reading where three local poets will share their diverse range of work. The featured poets include Ryan E. Holman, Carol Jennings, and Melanie Weldon-Soiset.

Ryan E. Holman ‘s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Maryland Literary Review, Corvid Queen, Quail Bell Magazine, and other publications. She enjoys writing about mundane and fantastic life through the lens of the elements.

Carol Jennings is a retired lawyer who worked for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection for more than 30 years. She has two published poetry collections, including The Dead Spirits at the Piano and The Sustain Pedal.

Melanie Weldon-Soiset is a #ChurchToo survivor, contemplative prayer leader, and poetry editor at Geez Magazine. She also is a highly sensitive person who struggles with insomnia, yet values insights gained through dreaming. She loves to write poetry that creates safe refuge for sleep and connects with beauty that rings true.

The Takoma Park Arts series includes free poetry readings, art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, theater, and dance performances at the Takoma Park Community Center. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

News, News Alert, Public Notices

Budget Public Hearings – Monday, May 1, 2023 (including Constant Yield Tax Rate Public Hearing)

The City Council will hold two public hearings on Monday, May 1, beginning at 7:30 pm.

A. Public Hearing on the FY 2024 Tax Rate Increase

CITY OF TAKOMA PARK NOTICE
OF A PROPOSED
REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

The City Council of the City of Takoma Park proposes to increase real property taxes.

1. For the tax year beginning July 1, 2023, the estimated real property assessable base will increase by 4.1%, from $2,688,034,783 to $2,798,767,009.
2. If the City of Takoma Park maintains the current tax rate of $0.5397 per $100 of assessment, real property tax revenues will increase by 4.1% resulting in $597,622 of new real property tax revenues.
3. In order to fully offset the effect of increasing assessments, the real property tax rate should be reduced to $0.5183, the constant yield tax rate.
4. The City is considering not reducing its real property tax rate enough to fully offset increasing assessments. The City proposes to adopt a real property tax rate of $0.5705 per $100 of assessment. This tax rate is 10.1% higher than the constant yield tax rate and will generate $1,459,642 in additional property tax revenues.

A public hearing on the proposed real property tax rate increase will be held at 7:30 pm on Monday, May 1, 2023 at the City of Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland.

The hearing is open to the public, and public testimony is encouraged.

Persons with questions regarding this hearing may call 301-891-7267 for further information.

B.  Notice of Public Hearing on the FY 2024 Budget

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the FY 2024 budget on Monday, May 1, immediately following the Constant Yield Tax Rate Public Hearing.

C. How to Testify

Testify in person. Advanced sign up is not required, but feel free to sign up on the sheet when you arrive at the Auditorium. People who sign up will be called before others.

Testify over Zoom. To testify over Zoom, advanced registration is required before 5 pm on the day of the meeting. Register to testify over Zoom.

Send written comments.  Send written comments to the City Clerk (clerk@takomaparkmd.gov). Written comments received will be distributed to the City Council and will be added to the record.

Questions? Call the City Clerk at 301-891-7267 or email clerk@takomaparkmd.gov.